Block soleplate and cover for electric flatirons



July 17, 1951v F. E. FlNLAYsoN 2,561,189

BLOCK SOLPLATE AND COVER FOR ELECTRIC FLATIRONS Filed June 2e, 194e zJagaux IYVGIDOVW' a f frank E. pirwlayso @MM/mm H is Attorrw ey.

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Patented July 17, 1951 BLOCK SOLEPLATE AND COVER FOR ELECTRIC FLATIRON SFrank E. Finlayson, Ontario, Calif., assignor to General ElectricCompany, a corporation of New York Application June 26, 1948, Serial No.35,400

1 Claim. (Cl. 38-90) parts which are diilcult to fabricate, complicatedto assemble in manufacture or for repair, and Among the objects of myinvention are to provide a lightweight inexpensive iron having but a fewparts which are easy to make and require only simple assemblyoperations. Such an iron should be capable of withstanding rough usagewithout damage.

Most electric flatirons prior to my invention have had a sole plate onwhich the heating ele- My invention relates to improvements in elecmentis mounted, and a deep drawn or cast shell which constitutes the outerside and top faces of the completed iron and encloses the heatingelement and controls which are above the sole plate.l According to oneaspect of my invention,

the usual sole plate is supplanted by a block' having side walls whichconstitute the outer iinished side walls of the iron. Thev cover thenbecomes a flat plate which can be made easily from thin sheet material.This construction largely eliminates expensive finishing operationsI andsimplifies the design of the parts themselves. Other parts of the iron,according to my invention, are combined where possible, simpliiiedinstructure, and rearranged so that their forming and their assembly areeasy and inexpensive.

These and other objects. and the details of that which I believe to benovel and my invention, will be clear from the following description andclaim taken with the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated anexample of flatiron embodying the present invention and incorporatingthe sole block with the flat cover plate mentioned above.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a sectional side view of an iron, with some ofthe parts shown in elevation; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the iron of Fig.1 with some of the top parts of the iron partly broken away for clarity;Fig. 3 is a section substantially on the line and in the directionindicated at 3 3 in Fig. l, showing parts of the sole block andelectrical connections; and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of theback or heel portion of the sole block, showing the terminals of theheater and a thermally-responsive cutout.v

The principal part of the iron is the sole block I, preferably cast frommetal in a single solid piece. For lightness in weight, as well as forease in finishing the outer surfaces, I prefer that the material for theblock be aluminum or an equivalent lightweight metal or alloy. Thisblock has a bottom flat ironing face 2 having the usual isoscelestriangular shape. and inwardly from the ironing face are two side faces3 which converge toward each other at the nose or toe 4 of the block.These side faces will constitute the finished outer side surfaces of theiron.

Also extending upwardly from the ironing face, and joining the rear endsof the side faces, is a back face 5. A flat top face 6 completes theouter surfaces of the sole block.

In order to reduce the weight of the iron, to give it proper balance andto provide a space for housing necessary mechanical and electricalparts, a cavity 1 is provided in the top `face of the block. This cavitymay extend to and open into the back face of the block for purposeswhich will later appear. However, the cavity leaves the side faces ofthe block unbroken, and because of the shape of the sides, this cavityis of materially less areathan the area of the bottom ironing face. .d

For supplying heat to the iron, a heating element 8 is provided. Thiselement is embedded in the block around the cavity as shown by beingcast therein, and should be of the substantially rigid, self-insulatedtype. I have found that a 'heating element of the character patented byC. C. Abbott, No. 1,367,341, on February 1, 1921 is satisfactory. Thiselement has a helical resistance conductor 9 housed within a metallicsheath'IU with a highlycompacted heat conducting and electricalinsulating material II. such as powdered magnesium oxide, to support theconductor in spaced relation within the sheath. The terminal sections ofthis heater are provided with the usual rigid and self-.supporting wireleads I2 which are connected to the internal resistance conductor in theusual fashion and are insulated from the ends of the metallic sheath bythe compacted insulating materialy II and by washers I3 which may be ofmica.

It will be noted that the terminals I2 of the heating element extendfreelyinto the cavity of Extending upwardly the block opposite theopening in the back face. Because the heater is substantially rigid andis embedded in the block when it is cast. these terminals do not requireany outside support at their free ends.

In order to enclose the cavity in the sole block and the mechanismshoused therein, I provide a substantially fiat cover plate I4. Forincrease in strength as well as ease in manufacture, the front handlepost or support I is made integral with the top cover plate. By makingthis plate of a comparatively high grade sheet metal stock, and becauseno deep drawing operations are required to shape this plate, expensivebufiing, polishing or other finishing operations are eliminated.' Thisplate may have an extension at the back of the iron with a rolled broadedge IB which can form part of a heel stand for the iron when it is notin use.

Thecover plate is held in place on the sole block by a screw I1 which isthreaded directly into the block itself and by a screw I8 which isthreaded into a support I9. This support I9 is in turn secured to thesole: block by screws 20. and as shown best in Fig. 3, lit bridges thecavity in the top face of the iron. Besides acting as a part of thesupport for the cover plate. the member I3' also supports plug terminals2I and 22.

lConventional means for securing the plug terminals to the support butinsulating them therefrom and from each other are provided. Obvio'usly',these plug terminals are adapted to be connected to a source ofelectrical power through the usual appliance cord and plug which are notshown. Preferably. this support member is integral with and carries acover 23 for the back face opening, as shown in Figs. l and 2. Thesupport I9 may also be provided with upturned side ears 24 which serveto aid in positioning the cover plate on the sole block and in holdingit in slightly spaced relation therefrom for heat insulating purposes.

In order to protect the electrical plug connections, I provide a plugguard 25 which is made of one piece of sheet -metal wrapped in generallycylindrical form, with its edges overlapping. The overlapping edges areextended upwardly to form a rear handle post or support 28 and areextended downwardly and bent to' fcm a securing ledge 21. The ledge 21extends' through the edge of a hole 28 in the cover plate and is held inplace under the cover plate by the screw I8 on the support I9. The backof this plug guard may be used as the other portion of the heel standtogether with the broad edge of the back of the cover plate in the usualfashion.

If'the iron were made with no controls for the heating element, it islikely that it would be hazardous to use orthat the aluminum sole blockwould become damaged from overheating. To prevent this, I provide athermally responsive cutout or thermostat generally indicated at 29. Inthe form shown as an example, the cutout has a current-carrying frame30, one end -of which is attached directly to one of the -heaterterminals, as by brazing. A contact 3l is attached to the other end ofthe frame member. Cooperating with this first contact is another contact32 carried by a spring arm 33 which in turn is carried by, but insulatedfrom, the frame member by insulation piece 34. This piece, which may beof mica, also insulates the` small bi-metallic piece 35,v from theframe, and is held in place together with thespring arm by rivet 36.Naturally, the spring arm resiliently urges the contacts 3l and tricallyconnected directly to the other heaterterminal by wire 39. A circuitthrough the device will be completed from the plug terminal2I throughthe wire 31, the rivet 36, the spring arm 33, the contacts 32 and 3I,the frame 30, the heater terminal I2, the resistance wire 9 of theheater, the other heater terminal I2. the wire 39. and the plug terminal22.

Inoperation. the bimetallic strip 35, when heated, will flex in adirection toward the spring arm. Any satisfactory adjusting means, suchas setscrew 40, mounted in the spring arm, may be used to adjust thesetting of the thermostat. The bimetal will bear against the end of thescrew and flex the spring arm to open the contacts when a desired heathas been reached.

Obviously, other cutouts. or other mountings of the cutout heredescribed could be `used within the body cavity of the iron withoutdeparting from my invention. Details of the specific cutout and itsmounting per se are not my invention, but are shown, described andclaimed in the copending application of A. G. Swenson. entitled ThermalCutout for Flatirons or the Like," S. N. 35,335, led June 26, 1948, andassigned to the same assignee as the present application, now Patent2,528,254,v patented October 31, 1950.

Completing the iron is a hand grip 4I made of wood or other suitablethermal-insulating material. This handle is fastened in any suitablefashion between the handle posts or supports, as by a long bolt 42 andnut 43.

When finishing the metal parts of the iron, lt is necessary only thatthebottom and side faces of the sole block be polished with a rather flnepolishing cloth. No bufiing is needed. Because of the nature of theother parts as described above, expensive nishing operations onv theseparts are also eliminated. Due to the number and character of the parts,there is a minimum number of sub-assembly and assembly operationsrequired to produce the iron. All of this contributes to low cost aswell as ease in manufacturing.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of myinvention are not limited to the particular details of construction ofthe example illustrated, and I contemplate that various and othermodifications and applications of the invention will occur to thoseskilled in the art. It is therefore my intention that the appended claimshall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart fromthe true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to `secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

An electric flatiron comprising a unitary solid metal sole block. formedwith a triangular bottom fiat ironing face, converging side faces and aback face extending upwardly from the ironing face, and a flat top face,said block having a cavity in its top face of materially less area thanthe area of the bottom face, said cavity having an open,- ing in theback face of the block, a heaterembedded in the block around the cavity,terminals extending from the heater into the cavity opposite the backface opening. a single plate fabricover, a rear handle support with anintegral l plug guard surrounding the plug connections, said guardforming additionally a second heel rest portion. a handle securedbetween the handle supports. and means securing the second handlesupport to the support member and to the cover plate.

FRANK E. FINLAYSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 0 Number Name Date '149,520 Bennitt Jan. 12, 1904839,343 Vogel Dec. 25, 1906 1,863,284 Rollman June 14, 1932 2.367.985Weeks Jan. 23, 1945

